Volvo XC90 - Reliability and safety

The Volvo XC90 was assessed by Euro NCAP in 2015. While at the time it was considered one of the safest cars the organisation had ever tested, with a 97 per cent score in the Adult Occupant Protection category, due to NCAP’s standards growing ever-more stringent, it no longer considers ratings of this age to be valid. 

That doesn’t make the XC90 an unsafe choice, because it still comes with all the passive and active safety assistance technology you’d expect of a luxury SUV. Two pieces of tech made their debut in the XC90: a Run Off-Road system that senses if you veer off the tarmac – preparing the car for a crash – and special energy-absorbent seats that’ll reduce the impact of a big hit. 

There’s also a clever autonomous braking system (AEB), which stops you turning in front of an oncoming car. This is part of Volvo’s enhanced City Safety package, which also helps protect against collisions with motorcycles, swerving bicycles or errant pedestrians.

Up until recently, the Volvo brand had been steadily rising up through the rankings in our Driver Power owner satisfaction survey, but it has dropped down from 13th in our 2023 survey to 16th out of 32 manufacturers in the 2024 results. That puts it below BMW in 14th, and above Mercedes in 25th.

Warranty 

All Volvos come with a three-year, 60,000-mile warranty, plus three years of breakdown cover. That matches Audi’s package, while Land Rover provides three-year, unlimited mileage coverage and three years of breakdown assistance. Leading the class is the Kia EV9, which has a seven-year, 100,000-mile warranty, but only a year’s breakdown cover.

Servicing 

Volvo offers a service plan that lasts the duration of a finance agreement. In the case of a three-year PCP deal, you can expect to pay around £700. You don’t have to buy these immediately, though, meaning there is no pressure to purchase a package at the same time as buying your car.